1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for sealing an edge region of a planar material ply. The method and apparatus employ an automated system which includes a central controller, planar material ply detectors, planar material ply stack detectors, movable platforms, a picking station device, and a sealing device which substantially shrinks and melts strands in an edge region of a planar material ply. The picking station device orients the single planar material ply in a predetermined direction on a platform and in a substantially smooth manner so that a predetermined focused region within the edge region of the planar material ply can be applied with a fluid at a predetermined temperature.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventional sealing devices employ hand-held hot air guns which require an operator to move a hot air gun up and down a stack of planar material plies. The stacks of planar material plies often include quantities of fifty or more planar material plies. This manual operation of moving a hand-held hot air gun often results with inconsistent sealing of the planar material plies and frequently causes many of the planar material plies to be burned due to an inadequate distance between the hot air gun and planar material plies. In addition, this sealing method requires an inordinate amount of manual labor in sealing each of the individual wash cloths through the movement of the hand-held hot air gun.
Various conventional air heating devices currently exist. These conventional air heating devices can also be used in large manufacturing processes where edge regions of planar material plies are sealed prior to the formation of the planar sheets. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,735 (Reynolds), a jet is employed in an automated process where heated air is directed towards a warp direction of long rolls of planar material which are later cut to form planar material plies. The jet device of the Reynolds patent requires continuous operation of the heating element where air is continuously fed through the jet device with an outlet pressure of about 10 p.s.i. The heating element of the Reynolds patent which heats the air that flows through the jet device is incapable of providing intermittent heat and will burn out if it is cycled on and off if the device is used in the processing of individual planar material plies.
Accordingly, a need in the art exists for an automated sealing apparatus and method which can seal edge regions of single planar material plies in addition to providing a heating element which can be cycled on and off in order to conserve energy when the planar material plies are individually loaded beneath the heating device in a sealing process. A need in the art also exists for an automated sealing apparatus and method which reduces the amount of manual labor in sealing single planar material plies.